Best Lens and Screen Cleaner?

Having tried a whole bunch after randomly getting quite a few as Christmas Stocking stuffers the one I keep going back to using with best results is the: - Spudz

It's really weird how much better it is than the other clothes, it does actually make your glass lens that much shinier and clearer and it does work great on your monitors, DS screens etc and with the added bonus that it can be tidied away into its own little pouch and clipped to whatever you fancy, in my key as a keyring so I've always got it.

Pampers v Huggies Pull Up Nappy Review

Starting to potty train?

A look at a couple of the training pants, the Pull Ups.

Pampers v Huggies As the main two contenders, this is what I've found from using both for a while each.

Pampers - What I liked about these, they had plenty of blue "wet" indicators on the front of them and also they were slightly more roomy, so easier to actually pull up like a pair of pants. That was it and both of those had flaws to them.

The blue wet patch indicators never actually disappeared to show the nappy was wet, which they were supposed to do. Being a bit more roomy meant that the pants came off with the trousers very easily, which is not what you want if you've got a poop to deal with.

The biggest problem with Pampers though, the tear away sides didn't have a velcro like fixer to them, so if you had to change them in public it became a major hassle as you'd have to take the shoes and trousers off, you couldn't simply whip on a new pair like a regular nappy.

Huggies - The best thing about these were the velcro like sides, they came apart and stuck back together really firmly, making them very convenient to change when on the go.

Personal preference was the Disney characters as well, though that's no reflection on the quality of the nappy, but the wet indicators did actually work on these so you wouldn't find a bowling ball size nappy all of a sudden. These nappies were a little tighter than the Pampers, so were a little tougher for the little one to pull them up on her own, but it did mean they stayed up when you pulled the trousers down which was nice.

Over all, having loved Pampers for nappies in general and not liking Huggies, Huggies were the big winner this time, being much better product. The major flaw to both of them though, as they aren't nappies, they don't have proper side stickies to wrap the nappy up in case of a smelly poo disposal, which isn't quite so fun and also the gussets aren't quite as large as in regular nappies so they might spill a bit of baggage if the kid is moving around vigorously with a large load in their pants. You also do not get as many in a packet as you do for regular nappies, about 60 for $20.

Because of that I really do think they are a waste of time to use when your toddler is first starting out on the path to potty training and you might as well stick to regular nappies until they are well on their way to being able to use the potty or the toilet because once they start on these they probably won't want to go back to nappies either.

Things to Do - The Ecotarium

The Ecotarium out in Worcester, MA

It's a great day out for kids, especially those 2-8 as they have a lot of activities for the kids to play around with, water toys, mini wind tunnels, music and light toys.

More than that, a collection of live animals, great collection of turtles, frogs and birds.

On a good day, they have lots of trails outside which are lovely too, nice short walks around a pond, with places to observe the water life and bird life, those some of these paths aren't very easy to get around with a push chair while others were. The kids playground is also very nice and spacious.

Some of the attractions were closed such as the walking tree canopy, which I could see being fun in the summer, and also the polar bear wasn't on display. The train ride is though and that is very cool, but it is a shame that some of these attractions cost extra.

One big tip, get a library pass to this place, entrance is then only $5 for adults and kids under 3 are free and older kids are $3 instead of being $12 for adults and $8 for kids.

Bath time!

This should be a time of fun, but with the wrong tub, it can be hell.

What we were given at our baby shower was by Safety 1st Infant Tub. Similar to the one linked. In theory it sounded great, which is why we registered for it, it's got an easy drain plug, it's got non slip grips and a thermal sticker to gage the water temperature.

The reality was, it was rubbish, the sticker never changed colour, the non slip pads didn't really hold the baby at all. The tub also wasn't deep enough to have enough water cover the baby, so she was always cold, and the water would cool very quickly. This resulted in pissed of nuclear baby on the epic proportions, which was not good and also heart breaking.

Someone recommended the Tummy Tub, this looked awesome, nice and small, the baby slips in and feels comfortable, the water doesn't get cold and you can easily bathe the baby, only problem was, it was close to $80 when we first looked, it's now around $60. This is a lot when the usual bath tubs are around $25-30.

We found a cheaper knock off on Amazon, the Prince Lionheart WashPod, which is basically the same as the Tummy tub, but $25.

It has been one of the best buys for the baby so far, she now loves bath time which makes the whole process a lot easier and not a strain, plus she can play in the water and stay warm and far less mess.